A neophyte boots the 2nd most powerful House Republican from office. A judge issues a ruling that could affect your kids' education. And things go from bad to worse in Iraq.

It's Wednesday, and here are the “5 Things to Know for Your New Day."

1. OREGON SCHOOL SHOOTING

The new normal?: These scenes are becoming depressingly commonplace – shaken students filing out of their school with their hands in the air. Distraught parents asking how many more of these do we have to go through. And, amid it all, the overarching question: why? It happened again yesterday when a student opened fire at Reynolds High School in suburban Portland, killing a student and then himself. The victim is freshman Emilio Hoffman, 14. We don't yet know the shooter's identity - and, more importantly, what compelled him into such a horrifying act.

President Obama said America should be ashamed at our inability to get tough gun restriction through Congress, and placed the blame at the feet of the NRA. He said most lawmakers are "terrified" of the gun rights group and that nothing will change until public opinion demands it.

"Our levels of gun violence are off the charts. There's no advanced, developed country on Earth that would put up with this."- President Obama

Our hearts go out to the Reynolds HS community. How many more students must we lose before committing to reduce gun violence in our schools?

Seismic shift: They're calling it a political "earthquake." A college professor and tea party neophyte booted the No. 2 House Republican, Eric Cantor, from office. Dave Brat's victory in yesterday's primary is a big deal: it'll have national implications since Cantor had been viewed as a potential Speaker.

Swap meet: The secret deal that secured the release of America's last POW (5 Taliban figures for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl) has not gone as expected for the administration. Instead of high fives, it's devolved into a 'how could you?' Both parties are complaining the administration should have looped them in on the swap. And some lawmakers say there's no guarantee the detainees won't go back to their (alleged) terrorizing ways. There have been briefings all week. But the big one happens today when Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the man who signed off on the prisoner exchange, appears before the House Armed Services Committee in a public session. Expect pointed questions and heated debate.

ODNI: Bush-Cheney released 171 Gitmo prisoners who returned to battlefield, compared to Obama's 7
http://t.co/KCNj9wcxVN

A stunning collapse: Mosul is Iraq's second-largest city. So what's happening here doesn't bode well for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Yesterday, militants seized the city's airport, its TV stations, the governor's office and set free up to 1,000 prisoners. Police and soldiers ran from their posts rather than put up a fight. This is how bad things are: The PM took to TV to ask for volunteers to fight the takeover.

Who are these militants and what do they want? They're part of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a group considered too radical even for al Qaeda. In the past, it has wrested control of Iraqi cities like Falluja, just like it's done with Syrian towns just over the border. The Mosul siege, says CNN's Nic Robertson, has made it "the single most dangerous, destabilizing radical group in the region."

Grading it an F: If you have school-aged kids, then listen up: Something happened in California yesterday that could have repercussions nationwide. A judge ruled that the state's teacher tenure laws were unconstitutional. Reformers have said the laws needed to change: they made firing a bad teacher almost impossible. And the ones who suffered were poor and minority students where such ineffective teachers more often worked. The teachers' unions say the laws needed to stay in place because school boards can be overtly political. They are going to appeal.

Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a few others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.

Channelling his inner Celine Dion: When Richard Dunn found himself stuck overnight at the Las Vegas airport, he could have done what we all do: read a little, sleep a lot. Instead, he shot a music video - an amazing and ridiculous music video that makes the insufferable "All by myself" cool again.

Cool cats: Tiger cubs, a video camera and a remote-controlled car. All together now, awww ...

Shaggy dog: Yikes! This cute puppy transforms into a lovable monster when it faces the leaf blower.

#RealDadMoments: This ad will give you a warm fuzzy feeling, whether you're a dad or not.

Driver-1, Biker-0: They say revenge is a dish best served cold. This biker certainly messed with the wrong driver. Lesson: Don't bring a bike to a car fight.

There you go. All you need to know to get an early start to your morning.

Be sure to tune in to "New Day" from 6 to 9 a.m. ET. Join us at NewDayCNN.com and go and have a GREAT NEW DAY!

soundoff(12 Responses)

Devo

Road rage is not funny or entertaining , does not matter who the aggressor is. Cant wait until someone gets inspired by this trash and kills someone, then you will have a story. Hysterical, great job CNN.

LOL Obama, really? The reason these school shootings are happening so often is because of the lack of security at these schools. I bet you that if you had every teacher at that school conceal carry. The next idiot to walk into a school property will regret that decision. And I believe that our right to bear arms is really the only security the American citizen has left to protect themselves from deranged minded people.

CNN, Why would you post a video seemingly promoting road rage against cyclists? While the biker in the driver-1 biker-0 video was clearly driving to aggressively, the car driver's behavior was no better. Forcefully backing into the bike could have seriously injured or possibly killed the biker. Promoting such behavior is completly irresponsible of a major news corporation, especially following recent incidents in New York City when a biker was paralyzed and in Atlanta when an enraged motorist chased down a cyclist, dragging him 50 feet and critically injuring him. Responsible driving should be the focus here, not revenge for some perceived slight.

Take a look at the cuts in the video. At 1:58, the mirror mysteriously disappears. Later in the video, the drivers side window is mysteriously smashed. It wasn't all on the driver. And if someone tries to forcefully open your car door, that's enough for me.

For anyone feeling bad for the biker, the video has been edited. Watch the biker break the drivers side mirror off of the car, one minutes its there, the other its not. He of course, cut out the action of breaking it off.

On the topic of the shooting. The sooner we quit glorifying these mass murderers, the sooner we rid of the problem. I know news organizations are all about ratings, but we are giving them exactly what they want. Something for the world to remember them by.

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